When Climate Change/Global Warming worsens how does it affect wind/rain storms?
I think a better question to ask is whether there will be more wind/rain storms and will they be of greater average strength. Global warming refers to an increase in the mean temperature of the Earth, but storms are determined by the local distribution of heating, winds, water vapor, etc. Climate scientists are just beginning to assess whether there will be more/fewer, stronger/weaker storms in particular regions. In California, for example, the forecast I have heard is for more dry years, but interspersed with a few very wet years with strong storms. There is the potential for more strong hurricanes because there will be larger areas of ocean with very warm water, but hurricane strength is also highly dependent on wind shear (vertical change in wind speed and direction), and some forecasts show increased wind shear on a warmer Earth. In other words, it’s not exactly clear yet what is going to happen. We will know when there are higher resolution climate models available, especially on
